Biography

William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland in England. He had a family of six, including his father and mother, John and Ann Cookson Wordsworth, and four siblings: Richard, Dorothy, John, and Christopher. The Wordsworth family experienced the loss of their mother at the time William was merely eight years old. Subsequently, their father died after William had started school. William began his composition of poetry when he was attending Hawkshead Grammar School. He went on to attend St. John's College in Cambridge, however, he temporarily left to tour Europe. He visited the Alps, France, and Switzerland, and while there, gained much of his inspiration for his later poetry. Additionally, after having been through the French Revolution, William became interested in the affairs of the "common man," and began to reject radicalism and adamantly support the Tories. William lived in France long enough to have a child outside of marriage, but left before the baby was born. He returned in 1802 to meet his child, named Caroline. However, William went on the marry Mary Hutchinson and the couple had five children. They lived in Grasmere, where two of their children ended up passing away. It was also there that William became acquainted with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1795, who was another well-renowned poet and who had a significant impact on William's life and works. They even published the Lyrical Ballads together in 1798. Finally, William and his family moved to Ryday Mount in England. Another one of their children, Dora, died in 1847. After this, William lost his will to write poetry, and died on April 23, 1850.